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SSC21: Top 10 minus 2 of 2012

It's been a long ass time since I've done one of these, huh? Sunday Social Club, oh all the memories we've had together. All the stupid things to say, all the making fun of others, all the terrible, terrible jokes. Let's take this time to make the most of it. December is halfway over, so let's talk about 2012. Let's talk about the games that I've enjoyed this year. Let's acknowledge the fact that this list is two games short.

I hope you look at this list and go "WHY ISN'T (Specific Game) ON HERE?" Well there's two ways I can answer that. I just haven't played it yet, or I never liked it all. If you feel you need to address that kind of thing, make a comment. If not we can all relish in the fact that these are words you are capable of reading, and they all come together to explain why such games are on my list in the first place.

I like to think that this will be a strange list to most, I'm okay with that. So let's begin:

I think if we could do a concrete jungle sandbox game once a year, I'd be pleased. Though my heart will always belong to GTA, I will happily (and mindlessly) play anything else, as long as it carries the same tropes. Driving around listening to the radio? check. Beating up randoms? Check. Creating chaos because I can? Check.

It actually doesn't take much to amuse me with these kinds of games, but to be honest I spend more time driving around listening to the radio than anything else. What makes Sleeping Dogs stand out a little better than most games of this type? There's a lot more grounding in reality. Compared to most, Sleepy dogs actually takes itself more seriously. There was no actual amount of absurdity in the main game, being full on police drama. ( though, the DLC will probably tell you otherwise, but I haven't played it yet.) Every character far from being a stereotype or social commentary. Wei Shen, wasn't even an audio folder chalk full of one liners every time he did something. It stuck with it's serious tone right from the beginning, and that in itself was pretty cool.

So yeah, a serious game but I have one caveat. In terms of it being a sandbox, it felt incredibly limited of fun shit that you could do around the city. Any characters you meet and could call up, are really only once or twice, most side quests you could never really go back to for shits and giggles (except for restarting missions of the main story). Though, through it's limitations, you could still find ways to have a serious amount of amusement: as demonstrated by AjayRaz or whenever Vinny showed it off.

Never in my wildest dreams, could I imagine Sega's Yakuza studio to capture ever so perfectly, an old school american-ass action flick. Characters wonderfully stereotyped. Tacky, cheesy dialogue. Robots and guns, OH LAWDY. At first I didn't exactly warm up to the idea of this game. I thought it was ugly. The designs of the robots, the doofy humans. Sometimes Sega studios come up with character models that just make me shrug. Plus, it's just another goddamn shooter, from Japan of all places! It's not something I would ever look forward to in first glance.

But over the months, I saw more of it, got more information. Eventually of course I have to pick this up. Granted, the gameplay is not it's selling point. It's what this game does with the characters that makes it so enjoyable. Playing with the stereotypes is one thing, but creating these individual people that you get to know, partner with, order around, separate from and meet up with elsewhere, gives it a special kind of variety. The characters themselves manage to be the best part of the game, with emphasis on you being the squad leader. Throughout the game, they do well with them interacting with each other, especially when you get to choose who you're going through the stage with. So you end up playing through with characters based on their personality, and they have their chance to warm up to you, or hate you just as much. Though the story does take a turn for something you could see a mile away, how it's presented just made me enjoy it.

Plus, it's Multiplayer is interesting enough. I'm saying this coming from the perspective of losing something I've enjoyed and finding something new. You see, Metal Gear Online was shut down this year. It was one of my favourite multiplayer shooters for a long time. So with it being gone, I've been looking for something to fill that void. The kind of game that Binary Domain is, manages to fill that void perfectly. Though it's not the same gameplay, it's competent enough. Aside from the typical Death-matches, the Horde mode is surprisingly good. There's a neurotic sense of urgency that happens when you play with 3 other people, and Horde mode style games aren't something I enjoy. Perhaps it's just the kind of game that this is, that makes me warm up to it a little better.

I encourage this game be played, in-fact I have been since the beginning. But games now a days are very hard to convince people to buy at full price for some reason.

Imagine if you will: An Earthborn man that never knew his parents, grew up to be the one with enough cojones to lead a galaxy to war against a threat so incomprehensible they gave you an extended cut for free. Actually, let's just set that aside for a second. Let's also set aside that the only reason why Shepard is doing ANYTHING, is because Earth is in danger, though clearly the entire galaxy hit the shit storm long before he even started to care.

Actually, let's just set aside any flaws about this game I could probably bring up that'll make me wonder why this is a list of 8 instead of a list of 7. The truth is, I don't really care about how bad this game probably is. I never did. In-fact you guys lost me completely when the complaints started rolling in. I was probably enjoying the game too much, to sit there and think about it too much. I was there since the beginning and I wanted to see it end.

The one thing I like about video games like this (or in general if you prefer) is that I'm enjoying the experience. If I could take anything out of the experience as a whole is that It was an equal amount of good and bad. Good, was the game. the WHOLE game. I wanted an ending, and from the beginning to the end was exactly what I asked for. Sure, there are some things that probably happened too fast, some things didn't make any sense, some things were never explained, but this game was the end of Shepard, not the end of the lore. Everything else that happened around him was in a codex, was a self contained side story, is part of a franchise that I know there's going to be more of.

But Sheppy? That dude can happily retire.

Another thing I love about games like these is that they're always open to so much discussion. What it has, what it does, where it's going. One of the things that came as a shock to me this year is to 'be careful who I'm talking to', or ignore who's talking about it…. one of those two. This game's largest drawback is not the game itself, but the community that surrounded it. I can understand being upset with how something ends, or how a story goes about it's ending, but it's never anything worth getting blood-thirsty over. If you spend time out of your life explaining in a 30 minute video on youtube, what kind of video game Mass Effect is supposed to be? Then I guess the only question is, how far does your insanity have to go for you to think you have creative control over something so desperately?

It's not as good as Mass Effect 2 was, I can admit that. But in terms of it being the end of a trilogy for a character, I'm perfectly content. The Universe has loads of other games, and books, and iOS apps to sort itself out later.

I really really really like this game, but perhaps I'm a little disappointed by it at the same time? I'm not to sure, because it's not a serious disappointment. I'm just saying I'm disappointed because I play a lot of Demon's/Dark Souls in my time, so I always imagine what the next step should be. I often picture an open world game, with D Souls design philosophy and Die by the Sword gameplay. Dragon's Dogma is not quite there.

Though, it's not like it's bad. The open world questing and giant monsters/large mobs, is one of the things that makes me wander around aimlessly. Remember all that talk at the beginning of how I like to drive around in sandbox games? This satisfies that part of my brain where I don't have to care about what I'm playing. I can't keep thinking about how I'm disappointed by this. Because I want to feel like this game is a chore, I want to be having a difficult time, I want to be AFRAID to fight the giant monsters.

So I guess it managed to find some sort of middle ground.

I've also liked it enough to keep giving it my money. "But Bon," You would say, "All the DLC is on the disc! Why would you encourage this!?" I'm not at liberty to have that conversation because I don't care. Truth to be told, if I like something enough I'll show my support even if it's something as silly as locked content. And this is the year that I actually let myself loose with the idea of buying dlc. Capcom of course, does make a lot of bad business decisions, but I'm not going to harp on them for trying. With the kind of content locked away it wasn't too crucial to the game, so those arguing the full experience is not had with a game like Dragon's Dogma, are rationalizing nothing. It was all plain ass extra content. Content I decided I was okay with giving a little extra money to get. Because fuck it, I'll give a little extra money to a company I like, about a game I'm enjoying.

I would complain that I never really got anywhere in the game till I hit level 30, but that's only because of my stubbornness to keep going through an area that was too high level for me to pass through. but once I went through that, everything was breeze. I also ran around a lot on purpose. I don't need to friggin quick travel, I'm old school! When I was your age we walked back in forth in video games all the time! It took an hour, AND WE LIKED IT.

It does seem to go a little backwards when it comes to systems and gameplay mechanics that seem to be standard for most modern games. But this is their first try. I imagine when they make the second outing, they know exactly what they'll have to work on. I honestly hope one of those things will be multiplayer.

I had a lot to say about this game before. Yes, I am a "FANBOY" of the Resident Evil franchise, I'm man enough to admit. I would happily, defend or argue points over the dumbest shit that this franchise is capable of. I eat up the fiction as if it were my favourite cereal. Leon S. Kennedy is the dude, as far as I'm concerned. I could sit here and buff Resident Evil all night, but then again, RE6 is not number 1 on the list.

Yes, there's a lot to dislike about this game PROBABLY. Many things you can nitpick, as the RE games no longer play like the games they used to be (I hear it disappoints scholars). Sure, disappointment is valid. It's close to an experience like Resident Evil 5, but takes a hell of a lot of liberties on how it wants to present itself.

Jake could have been the only other Wesker to still be alive, instead of being the son of that Matrix-clad asshole. OH! and also, Where's Barry? Did Jill strait up retire from the BSAA? So many questions stilllll. But I also like where this is going. Bio Terrorism is a fucking serious thing in this universe, it's no longer about zombies. I would complain that it just shouldn't be about zombies anymore, because the viruses themselves should have evolved beyond the point of "REMEMBER HOW GREAT RESIDENT EVIL USED TO BE? I WISH I WAS STILL PLAYING THE SAME OLD GAME."

I always thought Biohazard was a better title. That way, it could be allowed to be so much more than the games of old. So I'm always going to welcome anything they try to do with the franchise. Yes, I'll always remain skeptical on what they would actually do with the next game in the series, though I always try to keep an open mind at the same time. The game was an enjoyable roller coaster, as I've probably said months ago, it's more thriller than Survival Horror, and it was a very interesting direction. I will always recommend these games be played, but only if you're invested in the series the same way I am. The gameplay, as we go further and further down the cycle of gaming, will never be what you want it to be. But if you've always liked the characters, then let those be the ones to take you along for the ride.

I bought a vita at launch. That's the end of that anecdote.

...

Well, when I bought it, I happily had a job and I was spending money all over the place. So when I bought it (because it was new technology) I pretty much bought a crapload of the launch games at the same time. The funny thing is, Virtua Tennis 4 is the only game that kept my attention for longer than a day. I guess it's not really saying much because most days I never really shut-up about how much I like Tennis as a sport. I play it when I can, and when I'm not playing it outside, I'm playing it in video game form because I'm so bloody cool. Virtua Tennis is just the be-all-end-all tennis game for me. Nothing else really compares to it, Mario Tennis comes close, but there's too much emphasis on the bullshit fantastical levels and power-ups with that series, that I ended up turning the other cheek when it touched itself upon the 3DS.

So, there really isn't that much to say about it. Virtua Tennis 4 is a solid experience. It's been the only game I really enjoy on my Vita, and it's probably going to be for a very long time.

So a long time ago, I was a serious advocate for Afrika. Run around, take pictures, buy better cameras, take more pictures. It was a surprisingly fun experience and I enthusiastically Platinumed it. So in that respect, Tokyo Jungle is absolutely NOTHING like Afrika. But that's how I saw it. I looked at Tokyo Jungle in the same way: This incredibly bizarre Japanese game, Probably doesn't appeal to a serious amount of western audience, (though I could be wrong... about AFRIKA M I RITE?) It just speaks to me in this 'Cult Classic' kind of way. There's not a lot of games that manage do something so weird, and have it be awesomely executed.

Though the Survival mode is the meat of the game, they hid a Story in there. Story that you unlock from things you pick up in the survival game. It grabbed me in a way where I wanted to find out more about this world I'm playing around in. Documents of news clipping, diaries and whatnot explaining the fall of man spread throughout the play field. Then the sudden inclusion of Dinosaurs attacking you, a beagle, on it's way to Marking some territory.

It's a weird experience, that would be just as much a shitty social game on Facebook. Perhaps that's why it lends itself to just being something you can pick up and play whenever you have some time to kill "How long am I going to survive as a chicken today?" Quick answer: "Not very long." "Fuck it, I'm going to be a Business man!"

BURST, the most commonly used word in the game. used to execute something amazing, or if you want to be cynical about it, used to continue the story. Fun fact about the fighting gameplay, it's just filler. This game is nothing more than an interactive anime. NOTHING MORE.

Why is this my number one game of the year? Because there's been no other game like it. CyberConnect2 took their strength and created an experience that it more like something worth watching than playing. I don't know where to begin. It is a wonderfully crafted story, amazing characters that are supremely over-the-top. Demigods all falling forward in a master plan while having their own ulterior motives. A story that spans SO MANY YEARS with a character far too angry to die. It's just so cool what they do with this game. There's a lot of mashing and pressing buttons at the right time, but every little button press/analog flick, just feels SO satisfying. Not a lot of games out there give you something so tedious and present it in such a way that makes sense. QTE's and cutscenes are such a perfect marriage in this game.

I'm still so surprised by how much this experience stuck with me. As a full price game for me, it's managed to be worth every penny. The DLC episodes are just as cool, especially those 2D animated ones, artwork is genius, music was pretty awesome. I'm willing to start foaming at the mouth with excitement when I start talking about how cool it was.

At the same time, I understand that this is going to be soooo niche. This is not a game for the average gamer. Definitely not something that would appeal to a huge majority of the western demo. At best, you'd get people that will want to play it, but may take as long as to wait for it to be 20$ in order to give it a try. It breaks my heart a little to know a game like this, will never be considered worthy of a larger audience.

Cyberconnect2 was onto something. It's beautiful, it's amazing! Anyone should give it a try. But at the same time, It would be cool if this game was only done once. It become such an amazing experience that it would be too hard of a thing to replicate. Even if Cyberconnect2 made a sequel they would have to change how they did everything gameplay wise. It's something so great because it's the only thing of it's kind, the kind of feeling that may be diminished if there ever was a sequel.

Asura's Wrath had been my favorite game this year, because there has been no other experience like it that has managed to stick with me. If months of games go by, unable to knock over my enthusiasm for this game. Then I encourage you to give it a peak.

Best Mobile game: Fortune Street Smart

It takes a surprising amount of skill to keep my attention when it comes to playing a game on my phone. I have a fair amount, but I just can't be bothered most of the time, because I like to keep my phone as JUST my phone. What an idiot I must be if I have a 4S, I should just downgrade to a silly little flip.

Well then, I wouldn't be cool, would I?

So remember how awesome of a game Fortune Street was on the Wii? Did you know they made a Fortune Street for iOS? Well now you do. It's still as cool as it's ever been, and quite the game to roll around on, for those long bus rides. I just wish there was Multiplayer to it. With the amount of iOS games that you CAN play with other people, and with it being turn based, there's no way that it shouldn't be.

Also it's typical of it micro transactions of buy more maps, get more characters. While the map variety is well enough, there's nothing cool about the characters, when the franchise itself has a history of Dragon Quest Alumni. Sure you want to appeal to a larger audience, but half the characters in the Wii game, nobody would have recognized anyway. Keep one of the cooler things about the game, in the game. Oh and add Multiplayer. THEN WE GOT A DEAL.

Biggest Dissapointment: Final Fantasy XIII-2

The worst sequel to the Worst Final Fantasy game ever made. I don't have to explain it, you don't have to defend it. And it's not just my opinion, it's basically fact.

Best song this year: Into Free -Dangan- by B'z

SO, with that, I've got nothing else to say. With 2013 coming around, I'm already spending less and less time playing or even caring about video games. I'm still interested, I still pay attention to the business, reluctantly pay attention to the community, but I'm going to be spending a lot more time concentrating on the life I want to have. Half the year already kind of went that way, you'll be surprised on how much a career get in the way of silly hobbies. I enjoyed these games, I enjoyed making this list, and if I'm lucky I'll get to make another one at the end of next year.

Thanks.

3 Comments

Resident Evil 6, and you.

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I've played Resident Evil 6 a lot. Hell, I'm still playing it. I went co-op with a friend of mine, and am now going through it, single player, on my own account. Why? so I can unlock mercenaries stages.

I've read a lot of complaints, concerns, knee-jerks about this game, and I may be able to agree with some of it, but being the fanatical Resident Evil fan that I am, I find solace in it's clunky shooter-y ways.

This is no different than Resident Evil 5 in terms of how it controls. Save for little tweaks like movement, and the ability to slide into an enemy, shoot him in the face with a shotgun then repeatedly punch the fuck out of him. If you happened to enjoy the 5th game at least, there's nothing to really hate about this... Well maybe some things, I guess? how picky are you?

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What do you want out of resident evil? Survival Horror? sure! But are you going to give me the argument that Resident Evil has always been about Survival Horror? Yesss and no. That's where it got it's start, But you can't expect a franchise to be the same thing over and over and over again can you? Do you want that? Where would we be right now if Resident Evil was the same thing for the 21 games in the franchise?

It's managed to evolve. But it's evolved thanks to the characters that we all know and love. You can't expect Leon S. Kennedy to get out of Racoon City alive and NOT be prepared for any more of that shit, should it ever happen again. There are traces of it's Survival horror element here and there, but you have to realize that the game is a thriller now. A group of individuals with bioweapon combat training who know how to stop these situations, and yeah, guns are pretty effective.

If they decided to go back to their roots, they would have to reinvent everything, change the characters, change the universe. change all that was established, but when that happens, are you going to care? Newcomers to the series, maybe.

They have to make the most out of the fact that people love these characters, and try their best to make a game to please long time fans while still trying to make the game that they want to make. When you're this many games into the franchise, it is going to be hard to find that common ground. especially when it seems so many people want a game from that bygone era, but would also hate playing that dated gameplay. We want to have change that doesn't ruin our ideal of what we think something should be.

I'm trying not to speak in theoreticals and for everybody, But this is more of an analysis then trying to soapbox my way out of a jaded community.

I thought it was humorous.
I thought it was humorous.

Why I like these games is BECAUSE I'm invested into the story, the characters. It gets contrived, unfair, boisterous. But it's interesting. At this point if I've played these games since the beginning, I'm not playing them to be scared, I'm playing them to be taken for a ride. Capcom knows this, that's why 6 is more of a thrill ride then another spooky mansion. You even get three different ways to play the game. As close to traditional as you're going to get, a Gears of War shooter (but remember that time Gears of War took inspiration from Resident Evil 4? FULL CIRCLE.), and whatever experiment they tried with Jake and Sherry (A Nemesis like monster, a moment of open world on a mountain, snow mobiles and motorcycles, Stealth!)

It's always going to have a place in my heart, no matter what they do to the franchise. I am for all-intents-and-purposes, a fan. I will play these games over and over again, I waste hours in mercenaries mode, I play those on rails moments without complaints.

It is clunky, it has cheap deaths, camera issues, but nit-picking is not going to destroy my overall experience. A game like this is not going to be perfect and it never was. If you want my recommendation, I say yes! If you're a fan of the series, yes! If you're straight up curious fucking go for it.

Capcom has been getting a lot of flack over the internet's dumb shit for a while now. Resident Evil 6 is a testament of how much they like making their games. What they don't understand is how the internet works the way it does. They developed a system for unlocking things, while everyone seems to think it's DLC. It's also hard to capture a Broader Western audience with what they think they need to do. Shooters are boring, but they're effective. And there's nothing in 6 that 5 doesn't have that 4 doesn't have. One can only hope that if you do have your criticism, that it's constructive and not hateful.

I wanted to at least say something, much like everybody else. When a game like this gets bad reviews, it makes me want to play to find out why. Now that I've played the game for myself I can't see the fuss, and I've managed to find an enjoyable experience. (But I'm obviously looking for something different out of this game.)

I'm going to stop typing now, but before I do, I want to go out on a limb and say, that I think Resident Evil 6 is a game for the fans. That may be an iffy opinion but the way I see it, You either are, or just don't call yourself one.

(subtle joke)
(subtle joke)
51 Comments

TL;DL Episode 16: Qatherine Origins (Podcast)

Holy Crap! 16 already? Didn't we just do one of these? Well yeah we did! Did you listen to it? Fuck if I know, all I can tell you is I wanted to get back to the proper recording schedule that I wanted us to do in the first place. Hence there's still plenty to talk about. Especially with more people. 
 
Plus Ossi gets to correct me and Dolph on our LoL playing.
   

In this Episode (You'll love it's quotability):

 
And with that, we reach the end yet again my friends. Those of you who play MGO let us know in the comments, with a username, same with LoL. Because next week we're gearing up for a LoLPodcast where we try to do this while playing LoL at the same time. Is that a good idea? Probably not.
 
Till next week ;)

3 Comments

TL;DL Episode 15: League of Remnants (Podcast)

Welcome to what we like to call TL;DL After dark! After Dark meaning it's during a time where we should all be sleeping.. So the majority of these people are and it's really just me and Dolphin talking. THIS PROMISES TO BE A PRETTY CONTROVERSIAL PODCAST! SO STRAP IN.
 
You will love it. 
   

In this podcast:

  •  The only time you're ever going to hear Tiwi or Ossi, is this exact beginning moment. We talk IGN, E3, and Nintendo, especially Tiwi's distaste for the company! IT LASTS 6 MINUTES! 
  • Then Me and Dolph just right into Talking about CATHERINE. And Spoilers! How Bon thinks spoiler sensitivity can go too far. 
  • Dolphin's Been playing Farmville for totally shallow means (WIN STEVE WIN!) And gives a helpful tip on how to get ahead of Kessler. ;)
  • Dolph's also been playing Dead Space 2
  • League of Legends is a Pretty bad game. 
  • The Last Remnant is also a bad game, but Obviously better than LoL. I mean there's a lot of flaws to the friggin game... but still pretty cool.
  • How Dolphin regrets his 3DS purchase and why games for it are too expensive. Bon begs to differ.
  • EVO happened a while ago.
  • Being better at Video games than ungreatful children.
  • Smash Bros talky-talking.
  • Bon's writing for a cool new site ;)
  • Game of thrones
  • Reviewing games
  • SELF INDULGANCE-CAST: We start talking about things in our life and where we're at.
  • Dolph talks about School, Bon talks about a webseries he's been wanting to do for over a year now
  • here's one way you can support it! Until I get to be in the position to give you more information about it, details in the cast.
  • Japanese Story telling, IS IT HORRIBLE?
  • IT'S OVER (EPICALLY)
3 Comments

Bummer of Arcade - [SSC 20]

  
I always say, when you want to take your writing seriously, you should always write on a more professional platform. That's why I have a wordpress. But when it comes to gaming talk, I always find myself writing things up on here. I just feel like video game rambling has found a home in this spot, but when it always comes to more serious pieces I go back to the other one where I feel it belongs. 
 
So, It's been a while since I wrote a Sunday Social Blog. But I feel like this is going to be the last one. When I started these I kept it as a motivation on writing practice. If I kept myself to a schedule and stuck to it every week. That I would be able to improve my ability while talking about things I enjoy. Then I answered a call to arms, about a gig writing about video games and I took a chance. I used examples of reviews and editorial pieces, even used some of these blogs as example of my work. SO because of the Sunday Social's I actually got the job. So now, instead of writing these for fun. I'll probably end up writing these for work.
 
And I couldn't be happier.
 
But with that in mind, I thought it would be nice to at least end on a note of being the 20 in this series. SO... let's just get down to it.
 

Bastion

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A lot of my work has so far, entailed playing all of the summer of arcade games as they've been coming out. Bastion was the first on this list, and as much as Supergiant Games has been a friend of Giantbomb (which in turn, because of the fan-base 'sold quite a few copies') I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. It was the narrative that killed it for me a little. I don't want to get into it as much as I've been talking about it on TL;DL but there's been parts where it took me out of the experience and I just started getitng all blah about it. Maybe I raised the bar a little too high for it, maybe I really just wished for other people to talk. 
 
I mean... it's a good game to play and all.. but... UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 

From Dust

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A hell of a lot more enjoyable, and so much more simpler then your Black and White. I wasted a lot of my time playing it, because it was just so gosh darn easy to. There was something oddly relaxing about that game. It was just so low key in it's civilization building aspect. I'm surprised it never got any more complicated beyond beyond weather disasters. But I think there's something really good here. They really have something here, and heaven forbid if there's a sequel or DLC it would be awesome to see them elaborate on ideas. Just as long as we never see a giant stupid animal. Hahaha
 

Insanely Twisted Shadow planet

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All the fun of a Metroidvania with the bewildering controls of a dual Joystick shooter. It was fun at time and it was frustrating at others. I really did enjoy it enough for the most part and the “Lantern Run” Multiplayer is actually a really cool idea. But as art goes, it's considerably underwhelming. It did get increasingly darker over time though, which I guess is something you expect out of a shadow planet.
 
So far these Summer of Arcade games are okay. Bation was the weaker one for me by far, but I'm sure Fruit Ninja will knock mediocrity out of the park M I RITE?
 

FIGHTING GAEMS

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If it one thing I can always count on, it's catching the EVO bug. That was such a phenomenal weekend of fighting game prowess, and I wanted it to rub off on me a little but. I know I'm not very good at fighting games but so are a lot of people. Aside from Besting Sleepy_Insomniac Half the time in Marvel vs Capcom 3. I've been trying to give myself serious practice with SF4 especially since I recently purchased Arcade Edition to keep up with the times. I've come a long way, I still can't figure out charge characters for the life of me (and hell I've been practicing.) I think I need to step my game up with an arcade stick because that Xbox controller is still shit after all these years.
 
I also never thought it was possible to get the Fivepeat achivement, but 10 wins in a row online will look like nothing but a dream right now. :P  

That's it, that's all I want to say for this one. Thanks to people who actually read these and enjoy them. I think the only thing I'll try to keep up doing around here is the TL;DL podcast just to ensure that I'm not going away completely anytime soon. 

One of the things that I hope I can bring to the table of this new job is a kind of rationality in games Journalism that you never seem to see anymore. I think for more that a couple of years now, it's definitely gone up it's own ass. But I do think that's thanks to most forums and Kotaku itself feeling like if Fox News wrote for video games. It's easy to be jaded about a lot of things now a days. It's like we all feel like we need to be jaded, or it's cool to be. So I've always felt like if I was in this position of writing for games, I wouldn't want to go down that path. It's only a matter of time I guess
8 Comments

TL;DL Episode 14: It's just a Podcast (Podcast)


  Hello friendly happy listener. Guess what. Yeah, yeah... we're late again. But at last we are here for another week. Rejoice! Vidiot, Ossi, Sidescroller, Dolphin_Butter, and Apathylad join Bonbolapti into the fray as we tackle the thing that's been on a lot of people's minds. CAPCOM. That's right. That company that's under a lot of heat for a handful of things right now. Oh yeah.. there's also something about Bastion in there somewhere. DON'T WORRY THOUGH. IT'S A SPOILER FREE AS POSSIBLE!
            

HERE'S THE RUN-DOWN


I forgot to mention this part. but we think it would be hilarious if people just tweeted random shit on the twitters under the hashtag. #Itsjustbaseball It's stems from the Podcast. you'll learn all about it. but man.. that Trending topic needs to be flooded with this kind of greatness.
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TL;DL Episode 13: L.A. RAIN TACTICS (Podcast)

Earlier than last week, but I like to think of it being on Schedule. The Crew is here again. Bon, Ossi, Vid, Bene, Dolphin with Special Guest Apathylad. With nothing that they've really been playing, they take the time this week to just shoot the shit. That's right, It's just the Brass taxes. About Video games.
 
Sometimes that's all you need.
     

What's in store:


  • MORTAL KOMBAT: Dolph bought and mastered DLC. Or did he? Plus Rain jokes, and the possibility of Heavy Rain Characters appearing in the game.
  • Bonbolapti talks about how 'Great' Acting school is.
  • Bon also talks about his struggle with writing a piece about L.A.Noire.
  • Apathy is sitting on Portal 2
  • Operation Rainfall? What the hell are even Current Wii RPGs in North America?
  • Vidiot pops in just in time to talk Localization Bullshit.
  • Hey, you know what nobody does anymore? Rant about Squenix. (that's where we come in.)
  • Bene comes up with the quote of the year.
  • We are close as we'll Ever get to the NeirCast that Bonbolapti so desperately wants. 
  • Remeber when Bene Dropped the line from the last Podcast about playing Half Minute Hero? Well now he finally gets to talk about it.
  • Around this point I was actually looking for an excuse to do something. It will probably never happen again.
  • HARRY POTTER
  • Okay seriously. Let's sit here, and not LEAVE until we figure out what Disgaea 4 is!
  • And with THAT another successfully Fun Podcast. I hope you enjoyed listening. Especially since the after the End part is PROBABLY pretty awesome.



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TL;DL Podcast Ep.12: Late Title Card

TL;DL Episode 12, With Bonbolapti, Ossi, Vidiot, Bene, and Sidescroller. Look it's another episode, how exciting, let's talk about stuff. About what exactly? Well Movies for one thing. Right off the bat. Even before the show starts. Movies movies movies. Oh yeah.. but also videogames... 
 
Well.. Okay Maybe just Transformers 3 and Tree of Life. What else is in store? 

   
 
  • Vidiot doesn't understand how Harry Potter works. (and needs his America in everything.)
  • Actually let's play a game... How many time Have I dropped the F bomb this podcast? When I was listening to it, I was actually kind of surprised in myself.
  • Again, Transformers 3!
  • Tree of Life is probably, if anything, a student film.
  • Steam Salessssssssss
  • An L.A. NOIRE Conversation that hits the spoiler mark at around the 33:00 mark to 43:30
  • Then we talk about the relationship between Team Bondi and Rockstar
  • Bene Throws down a conversation about Radiant Historia
  • Some Sort of Level 5/studio Ghibli game
  • Ossi has been playing Pilotwings Resort on his 3DS.
  • Bon is one of the cool kids that smack talks Journey and Spoils the game for EVERYONE.
  • Then Bon gets to talk about Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, and discuss the Benefits of having it on your Portable.
  • Then the General Resident Evil conversation begins.
  • The We go from Resident Evil Racism to Metroid Sexism, because the two go hand in hand.
  • Then VOICE ACTING? In NINTENDO GAMES? PSH
  • And before we go, we tease what Bene will be talking about NEXT WEEK.
Thanks for Listening guys! We're happy to be back in the groove of it.



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Oh hey! Didn't see you there. [SSC19]

The first time I played through Silent Hill: Shattered Memories it was not exactly my favorite experience. It seems that everywhere I was going women just seemed to be hating me left and right. I'm sure it would have been wonderful to read the assessment of my psyche and we could finally get to the bottom of the opposite sex's out-right hatred for me.
 
But then the game fucked up...
 
 I'M CALLING THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE I HAVE A HEART ATTACK!
 I'M CALLING THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE I HAVE A HEART ATTACK!
Around the home stretch I passed through a door and I glitched out, falling through the ground, forever falling through darkness, sinking further and further from the game itself. I was screwed. Still, with the ability to move around and check my phone, but no chance in hell of getting back up. Naturally that's when I restart from the last time I saved.
 
Considering the way this game has been playing out, I can't remember the last time I actually stopped and saved my game. In these situations you can only hope for the best and Load!
 
I didn't have a saved game though. So 5 hours of playing the game all disappeared and I found myself at the very beginning, for the second time. I felt distraught, defeated... I turned the game off and Dwelled on what might have been the end of my experience. I knew if I were to play it again, it just wouldn't be the same.
 
I vowed I would play the game again, after everything about it was lost in my mind. I could enjoy it again for the first time.
 
A year and some later, It's not like I forgot about things completely. I still knew what to do, what to look for. It was definitely a completely different experience from what I remember. I essentially was critical pathing it, only looked at things that I thought were necessary. It's funny how a lot less you get out of the game when you don't stop and smell the roses. Hell, even by not looking at anything sexy has made all of the females in this game rather boring.
 
Oh hello, I'm the worst part of this game.
Oh hello, I'm the worst part of this game.
Maybe I did it wrong, it breaks the illusion of the game a bit when you don't really participate in the things that it's about. As well as there being a lot of phone and text messages that I missed out on. You know, it feels like I didn't get as complete of an experience than I did when I never got to complete the game the first time. But, I looked at it this way: The game is supposedly analyzing my moves to determine what kind of person I am. So I felt like I might as well play the game, truthful to how I would be in these situations. It was a lot of just getting through and not stopping to look at all the pretty decorations on the wall. It makes me seem boring as a person, thinking about it..
 
You know, I really ought to do myself some justice. I should play through again, A THIRD TIME, this time being distracted, and veering, and all that.... maybe the memory of my first play through is enough to haunt me.
 

Let me tell you a story about a man named Vidiot.

No Caption Provided

I've come to terms with this, I've given it some thought. Vidiot comes across as a bag of wind, because he types a lot. But a lot of what he types is actually really good, informative, thoughtful. I laugh, I cry, I giggle, I fart. He's one of my favorite people on the TL;DL podcast especially when he gets to talking, then that means I don't have to do any talking. I can just sit back and listen to his beautiful voice. 
 
What I'm saying is, I decided I was going to blurb a little bit about Viddles. Because this is filler, and I couldn't think of any better of an Ego to inflate. So let's all follow Vidiot, be his friend, take him out to dinner, read his blogs. Know that our tomorrows will always be better with a man like that.
 
 
/cough 

So L.A. Noire was a thing, and I have to admit RIGHT OFF THE BAT that I haven't actually played it for myself yet. My Roommate has been doing a lot of the driving, so I just sat on the couch with my fruit juice and chippies and watched it all play out.

 
I spent the entire time not liking Cole at all. He's a hard character to like, his personality felt so insincere to me, maybe it was all that constant blinking, maybe it was the occasional yelling at the people he's interviewing, Maybe it's the major plot points that just totally switched around what kind of person he was actually supposed to be.
 
Somebody is going to have to explain this guy to me. No I'm serious. Someone spell out for me a compelling case of why Cole Phelps should be a good character! CLASS, I DEMAND ESSAYS!
 
That's all I have to say about that chapter.


OTHER THINGS:

  • eShop is probably my favourite shop. The virtual console of old Gameboy games tickles my fancy in such a way that I need to buy these games, even if I already own them in some form.
  • RE: Mercs 3D will be acquired this week (I'm hoping) but judging by popular opinion, I'll be the only one picking it up. Oh well, fun for me! /dance
  • I've been waiting for eternity to be able to write a big amazing blog on screened.com, but I don't know if it'll ever happen... AUGHHH maybe I should just be an animator for the rest of my life : /


11 Comments

TL;DL Episode 11: Late to our own party(mix) (podcast)

 
Hey Kids, did you miss us? “Us” as in TL;DL, that really awesome podcast with a cast of characters you know and love? Now do you remember? What, you still don't? Well it has been a month hasn't it. Maybe even longer than that.
 
Anyway check it out: Bonbolapti is back hosting this award winning podcast about life love and happiness in relation to video games. Joined by the dream team, Ossi, Vidiot and Sidescroller! (and maybe Sleepy_Insomniac.) And would you believe it? We just jump right into the magic. So what will you do? Will you give it a listen? Well then, strap up child and get ready for a ride! 
 
   
 


Somewhere in the Podcast we find out who the Murderer is!

BUM BUM BUUUUMMMMMMMM

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